The present invention relates to a game system structured by different types of game machine devices and a communication method and a transmission method used in the game system. In particular, the present invention relates to the game system that is capable of playing and enjoying a card game.
Recently, a wide variety of home video game machines (will be referred to as main game machine unit) have been proposed and widely sold in the market. As a result, have been developed and sold various kinds of computer-readable recording media, such as cassettes, CD-ROMs, or the like that correspond to each of the main game machine unit.
Differing from the main game machine unit, many video game devices of portable types have been also proposed and on sale and may be called portable game devices hereinafter. Each of the portable game devices can be carried or borne and can enjoy a game anywhere. In addition, many of such portable game devices can be connected to a home television set and can play a game on the television set. Among the portable game devices, there is a portable game device that has a communication function and that is therefore communicable with another portable game device of the same type by the use of an infrared ray. As a result, the portable game device of this type can enjoy the same game among a plurality of players and may be called a portable game machine so as to be distinguished from the other portable game devices that have no communication function.
Alternatively, a game device of a memory card type has been proposed and sold and will be referred to as a memory card device hereinafter. Such a memory card device is attachable to and detachable from a main game machine unit, namely, a main body of the main game machine unit and can be downloaded with a program from the main body. The memory card device can also enjoy a game in accordance with the downloaded program with the memory card device detached from the main body and can be therefore used as a kind of a portable game device. Such a memory card device is also communicable with another memory card device by the use of an infrared ray.
In the meanwhile, it is to be noted that the instant inventors have previously proposed a card game which can be enjoyed by the use of the above-mentioned portable game machine. Such a card game includes various sorts of cards having different abilities (or ability indexes) and functions and assigns a predetermined life points to each player. With this card game, a selected card is selected among the cards by each player and is located or put in a predetermined playing field on a screen of the portable game machine to be compared with another card located by another player(may be, for example, a computer in the portable game machine). Under the circumstances, decision is made about wins and losses in the card game by comparing the abilities of the cards located on the predetermined field.
The above-mentioned card game is progressive and advanced by alternately locating the cards in the predetermined field and is continued until the life point of either one of the players becomes equal to zero. This card game can be enjoyed not only by a single player but also among a plurality of players by communicating with the other portable game machine or machines by the infrared ray, as mentioned in connection with the portable game machine.
More specifically, the card game previously proposed by the instant inventors prepares seven hundreds sorts of the cards, each sort composed of 250 cards, and the resultant total of 175000 cards. Among them, three hundreds (300) cards are accommodated into a storage portion that is called in the card game "briefcase". At the beginning of the card game, forty cards are selected or derived from the "briefcase" to form a pile of cards which is called "deck". Practically, the card game is played by the use of the forty cards included in the deck.
Furthermore, the instant inventors have also proposed a card game system in Japanese Patent Application No. H11-209582, namely, 209582/1999. Specifically, the card game system is applicable to the home video game machine (namely, the main game machine unit) to which the memory card device is attached. This card game system can enjoy the card game like in the portable game machine mentioned above and can induce an additional interest in comparison with the card game played by the portable game machine, by utilizing the main body and the memory card device.
Herein, it is to be noted that most of the cards in the card game played by the use of the card game system are identical with those in the card game played by the use of the portable game machine.
However, card game programs for the card games are peculiar to the portable game machine and the card game system and are neither interchangeable from each other nor compatible with each other. This applies to any other game programs.
In addition, proposal has been made about exchanging cards among players by using the communication function installed in the portable game machines of the same type. However, results and records accomplished by the portable game machine mentioned above can not be utilized by the card game system or apparatus in spite of the fact that the cards themselves are common to the card games executed by the portable game machine and the card game system.
More particularly, let a specific card be obtained by the use of the portable game machine by accomplishing a predefined condition determined in the card game. In this event, the specific card is not available to the card game system with the memory card device as long as the predefined condition is not cleared by the use of the card game system. Accordingly, each player must clear the same predefined condition by the card game system also to get the specific card.
At any rate, even when the card game played by the portable game machine is similar to that played by the card game system, the card games can not be enjoyed by the use of the same cards in the portable game machine and the card game system. This is not restricted to the card game but applies to any other games.
For example, it is assumed that a certain player clears the predefined condition with the portable game machine. When the player plays the card game by the use of the card game system, the player should repeat the same card game many times by the card game system also to clear the predefined condition. Otherwise, the specific card can not be obtained and the card game can not be enjoyed by the use of the same cards in the card game system. Repeating the same card game many times to clear the predefined condition is boring for each player. This might lose player's interest.